


smilin' down

by eudaimmonia



Series: teacher au [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, every cliche in the book, flustered annabeth, flustered percy, for sophi love u mwah, the whole shebang, whoooo teacher au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eudaimmonia/pseuds/eudaimmonia
Summary: it's really embarrassing when your little crush on a coworker is so apparent that a classroom full of teenagers can pick up on it
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: teacher au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083182
Comments: 9
Kudos: 111





	smilin' down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greekgrad12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekgrad12/gifts).



> for the best experience listen to paper rings by taylor swift while reading this <3

Percy loves his kids. Really, he does. The 16 and 17 year olds he teaches are way funnier than his friends have ever been. They talk to him a lot, about movies or stress and classes or breakups.    
  
He guesses they think he’s a lot more knowledgeable than he actually is. 

And he’ll remind you that he loves them, even when they’re infuriatingly interested in his love life. 

On a crisp Monday morning, Percy sits at his desk, playing Tetris as the kids roll in. There’s still a good 20 minutes until class begins, so the room is mostly empty. It smells good today, the scent of French press wafting through the air. His Tetris score goes higher and higher, and his focus is unbroken, even when a student appears at his desk. 

“Mr. Ja--is that Tetris?” 

“Hell yeah,” he says, clearing another row. “Do you see that score? I feel like a god right now.”    
  
“Wow,” the kid muses. “Mr. Jackson. The Tetris god.” 

“Exactly.” Percy lets the blocks pile up in a disgustingly unsatisfying way, losing on purpose (he’d broken his record anyway). He spins around in his swivel chair to face the student. “So. What’s your question?” 

“I didn’t really get the reading and….” 

Percy gives him an explanation, taking note to post it on their FAQ for the semester. The bell gives its ten minute warning. 

“Alright, first period,” Percy says when the final bell rings. His students are accounted for, but their chattering is deafening. He chooses the ‘stand there and wait’ tactic, which surprisingly works—one student notices, then hushes the others.

“Thank you. Get out whatever you take notes with. Today’s lecture is on the Columbian Exchange. We are not going to be able to finish it today, but the slides will be online. Yes, Jamie?”

“Why can’t we finish it today?” Jamie Wang, a junior, asks. 

“Getting there. Beth’s coming in today to talk about econ/gov. She’s at Mr. Folger’s room right now. It  _ is  _ just for the juniors. I’m aware we have other grades in here, but this is good information for the underclassmen as well. You’ll love her, she’s great.” 

“Beth?”

“Ms. Chase,” he corrects. 

“Like, the calc teacher?” 

“That’s her,” Percy affirms. “She also teaches econ/gov, which is the social studies you will take your senior year. Which is so cool right? I could never teach math. Any questions?” 

He hears some mumbles, nothing loud enough for him to respond to. Still, he doesn’t like the grins on their faces. They’re a little  _ too  _ excited about government and economics. 

“No? Clear as mud?” 

A few people seem to get his joke. Well, at least his mom likes it. 

“Okay! Columbian exchange. What do you already know?” 

They work their way through the lecture. Percy keeps looking at his watch—Annabeth is supposed to appear halfway through the period. 

“The thing with crops is that the same crops don’t originally grow everywhere. Corn, potatoes, and tomatoes are native to the Americas, but they’re also easy to grow. So that means: Europe takes them to, well, Europe, and they become a staple food. Pre-Americas, Italy didn’t have tomatoes. Imagine pasta without tomato sauce. Imagine meat without potatoes. You can’t, because you were born in a world where this level of globalization  _ and more  _ already exists.” 

“How—”

“Hold the questions, please. So with this influx of new crops, people get more nutrition, more energy, all of that. And as a result, the population booms. This is gonna be a recurring theme as globalization increases more and more.” 

Percy takes a breath. “There’s really no point in continuing to the next slide right now because we have…” He checks his watch. “5 minutes. So now would be the time to ask questions.” 

They don’t ask questions. 

No, instead, Percy finds himself in an argument with teenagers about potatoes. 

“Mashed potatoes are gross. If I wanted mush I would just eat baby formula.” 

“You’re supposed to add seasoning, dude.” 

“Let’s be real: there is no wrong way to eat a potato,” Percy declares. “I am older than you, so I’m right.” 

“Well, there’s one wrong way to eat it, and that is raw,” a woman’s voice interjects. Percy turns to see Annabeth Chase leaning against his door frame. “And I’m older than you, so I’m right.” 

“By one month.”

“It counts.” 

“You’re early,” Percy notes. 

“Early is on time; on time is late,” Annabeth says matter-of-factly, stepping into the front of the classroom where he is. 

“Miss Chase, everyone,” Percy says, pointing at her á la Will Smith. She snorts before taking her place in front of the projector. 

“I sent you the presentation?”    
  


“Yep, gimme one second,” he hums, sprinting behind his desk. He hears some giggles, but chooses to ignore them. 

“Hi guys, if you don’t already know….”

Percy looks at her asking the kids questions, some thoughtful, some silly, and he knows he would’ve loved a teacher like Annabeth as a kid. Not because she’s hot—well, he won’t deny that she’s hot. He’d be the last to deny that. But not  _ just  _ because she’s hot. 

“Mr. Jackson?” Annabeth interrupts. She looks at him like she’s said it once or twice. “Next slide, please.” 

“Oh! Right.” He clears his throat, clicking the ‘next slide’ button. 

He  _ really  _ should stop thinking about how hot she is. 

But once all the eyes in the room are on Annabeth again, Percy leans forward in his chair, propping his chin in his hand. She has a sparkle in her eye, talking about her class.  _ Economics and government.  _ Percy never understood economics, and he barely understood government. How she can take the most boring thing in the world and market it to the most apathetic people Percy’s ever met, he doesn’t know. 

He would’ve been a better student if someone like Annabeth had taught him calculus or econ/gov. Someone like Annabeth  _ did  _ teach him history—that’s why he loves it so much. 

He wonders if he could be that teacher for his students. 

Annabeth finishes her presentation with ten minutes to spare. 

“We have some time before the bell, so just work on your readings,” Percy says, taking back control of the room. He knows there’ll be chatter, but he doesn’t mind. They’d gotten through their work for the day. 

Annabeth grabs an extra chair and joins him behind the desk. “Was that okay?” she whispers, face scrunched like she’s cringing at herself. 

“That was amazing.”

“Yeah?” She has a tiny smile on her face, and it gets a little bigger when Percy knocks his foot against hers under the table. 

“Seriously Beth, it was great. I would take econ/gov if I could.” 

“You don’t have to say that,” Annabeth says, eyes flitting up to his décor. 

“I mean it.” And he does. 

She meets his eyes, and he gives her a smile saved just for her. He doesn’t know when it became so, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she sees it. 

Annabeth tells him that her move has been crazy, that she didn’t realize how much stuff she had until she had to box it up and drag it to an apartment in the suburbs. 

“I can help you unpack,” Percy says, wincing at how quickly he jumped at the opportunity. 

“Really? Ugh, thank you so much.” 

Percy’s throat feels like cotton, his stomach a mosh pit.  _ Get it together!  _ he wants to yell. He should not be acting like one of his students the week before prom, and yet here he is, trying to pluck up the courage to ask her out. 

_ Well _ , his brain goes,  _ technically a date is just spending time together so if the moving thing works out then that is technically a date. But also, technically, both people have to know it’s a date for it to be a date and— _

“Would you mind coming over on Saturday?” 

“Huh? Oh, yes. Saturday would be great.” Percy hates how flustered he gets. But he loves when her presence graces the room, bringing a golden halo of happiness with it. 

“Then...it’s a date,” Annabeth says quietly. 

He looks at her, fidgeting with a straw wrapper in her hands. It bends around her finger like a ring. “Oh?” 

“I mean if it’s okay,” Annabeth rushes, throwing in a nervous chuckle. It hits him that she might be as flustered as he is. 

“Yeah,” Percy says, unable to contain his grin. “Yeah, that’s more than okay.” 

Annabeth flattens her smile, somewhat composing herself. “I will be right back.”    
  
“You do that.” 

He waits for her to leave before pumping a fist in the air and letting out a “whoo!” that gets him the attention of every nosy teenager in the room. 

“Ha! Lee, come on, you owe me five dollars.”    
  
“Ah, shit.”    
  
“Wait, what?” Percy says, sitting up in his seat. “I-- _ what? _ ” 

“Man, why didn’t you ask her out first?” Lee complains. “Now I gotta pay five dollars…” 

“Hold on, hold on. You bet on my love life?”    
  


“Hell yeah. You guys had a real will-they-won't-they thing happening.” 

“A real--don’t you have homework to do? No more talking,” Percy declares, feeling the heat in his cheeks. He ignores the snorts and giggles, almost hiding behind his monitor.

He has to remind himself that he loves his kids. 


End file.
